Pope Francis has candidly disclosed that he imposed a personal television ban on himself after accidentally tuning into a risque programme, which he felt was inappropriate for his spiritual well-being.
The head of the Catholic Church admitted that the salacious content was so jarring to his sensibilities that he has abstained from watching TV for nearly 35 years.
Recounting the incident, the Pope said: “I was watching television in the lounge with my fellow priests.
“It was July 15, 1990, and some scenes of an adult nature, to put it delicately, were being shown – something that was not good for the heart.”
The Pontiff reflected on his reaction, stating, “Nothing risque, of course, but when I went back to my room, I said to myself, ‘A priest cannot look at such things.'”
Consequently, he made a solemn vow during a religious service: “And so, the following day, during the mass for the feast of the Madonna del Carmelo, I vowed never to watch television again.”
At 87 years old, Pope Francis reminisced that one of the last significant events he watched on television was the historic fall of the Berlin Wall back in 1989.
In his latest publication, “Life: My Story Through History,” he reveals that he’s made only a few exceptions to his self-imposed TV exile, reports the Daily Star.
Despite the grandeur of Royal events, he confessed that even the coronation of King Charles didn’t tempt him to break his rule.
The Pope also mentioned tuning in to a Sunday mass broadcast while he was receiving medical care at the Gemelli University Hospital in Rome.
However, he does make rare concessions for important global events. He added:”Only very occasionally do I allow myself to watch: for example, when a new president is sworn in, or I watched briefly once when there had been a plane crash.”
“I switched it on, too, to follow Sunday mass while I was being treated at the Gemelli University Hospital in Rome.”
“But I didn’t watch the coronation of Charles III, the new British king, for example, or many other important world events. Not out of disdain, but because I made a vow.”
